The number of peace support operations throughout the world continues
to grow, increasing the need for the international community to respond
with military and related complex security operations to bring the
stability and security that is fundamental to social, economic, and
political progress in countries in crisis.

Africa is facing greater peace support needs, and the international
community recognizes the importance of more comprehensive measures for
ensuring peace. In recognition of this, in Kananaskis, we resolved in
the Africa Action Plan to provide technical and financial
assistance so that, by 2010, African countries and regional and
sub-regional organizations are able to engage more effectively to
prevent and resolve violent conflict on the continent, and undertake
peace support operations in accordance with the United Nations
Charter.

In Evian, we followed up our earlier pledge with the Joint
Africa/G-8 Action Plan to enhance African Capabilities to undertake
Peace Support Operations. In that plan, we made the commitment to work
with African partners, step by step, to develop key building blocks
that will help to channel existing resources more effectively in
support of the longer term African vision for its peace and security
architecture.

Already many G-8 countries have undertaken activities to improve
the capacity of African organizations and countries to conduct peace
support operations and their related activities. The EU recently
established the Peace Facility for Africa, an initiative that pledges
250 million to address the well-recognized financial and logistical
difficulties that many countries in Africa face when trying to deploy
to international peace support operations and to support the African
institutional capacity building process. The U.S., France, Canada,
Germany and the UK have provided bilateral assistance to train and
equip African peace support operations units and to develop the
capacity of African organizations to establish, manage and sustain
peace support operations. Italy has provided support to African peace
support operations including through training activities at the UN
Staff College in Turin and operations at the UN Logistical Support Base
in Brindisi. Japan and Russia have supported African peace support op

While we have made progress in establishing a framework for greater
peace and stability in Africa, more coordination is needed to maximize
our individual efforts to enhance African peace support operations
capabilities.

Similar measures to improve the capability to conduct peace support
operations and related activities are also needed elsewhere. There are
significant gaps in many countries abilities to conduct peace support
operations in a timely manner. Institutional capacity building is
particularly important for headquarters staffs in those regional and
sub-regional organizations that do not have the training and expertise
required to effectively plan and carry out peace support operations.
With the growing number of complex peace support operations around the
world today, there is a lack of well-trained and equipped units able to
respond to increased demands. Many of the countries that do have the
capacity to participate in peace support operations are unable to
participate due to their inability to transport and sustain their
troops. Trained units need to maintain their skills until their
deployment to a peace support operation.

Increasingly, carabinieri/gendarme-like forces have demonstrated
their unique skills in recent peace support operations. These units
can fill the security gap between military forces and civilian police,
relieving some of the military units heavy burden and establishing an
environment in which civilian police can operate effectively within the
rule of law. More interoperable and a greater number of these units
are needed to participate in international peace support operations and
their related activities.

Action Plan for Expanding Global Capability for Peace Support
Operations

Today, we committed to an Action Plan to expand global capability
for peace support operations that is available for any international
peace support operation or mission on a timely basis. Any nation
receiving training and assistance will make its own sovereign decision
on whether to deploy its units to a particular peace support
operation. All peace support operations and other related activities
undertaken by G-8 members under this initiative would be in accordance
with the UN charter. Moreover, given the fact that most of the peace
support operations around the world, particularly those in Africa, are
operating under the aegis of the UN and with a UN Security Council
mandate, all actions undertaken by the G-8 to expand global capability
for peace support operations should be implemented in close cooperation
with the UN, in accordance with its technical standards, and take into
account the recommendations of the Brahimi Report. In Africa, these
actions should also be implemented in close cooperation wi

Accordingly, we undertake specific activities and coordinate our
efforts closely to ensure the maximum benefit to our partners and
ourselves. Therefore, we commit, consistent with our national laws,
to:

Train and, where appropriate, equip a total of
approximately 75,000 troops worldwide by 2010, in line with commitments
undertaken at Kananaskis and Evian. This effort will have a sustained
focus on Africa and other nations that can contribute to peace support
operations both in Africa and elsewhere. We are also committed to
training and exercises to ensure that those troops will maintain their
skills after their initial training. Activities will also include
enhancing the institutional capacity of regional and sub-regional
organizations to plan and execute peace support operations.

Coordinate with African partners, the UN, the EU and others to
maximize our individual efforts to enhance African peace support
operations capabilities and their related activities. By playing an
active part in the AU-hosted annual consultation, setting up donor
contact groups in African capitals (as foreseen in the Evian plan), and
conducting coordination meetings with interested parties, we will more
fully coordinate assistance by G-8 members and others related to peace
support operations and their related activities. To this end, we will
establish G-8 expert-level meetings to serve as a clearinghouse for
exchanging information for as long as will be needed to accomplish this
goal.

Build peace support operations capabilities in other
regions by 2010. Many of these peace support operations units could
deploy to Africa, as well as to crises in their own regions. Member
states are also committed to providing training and exercises to help
ensure that those troops trained maintain their newly learned skills.

Work with interested parties, before the next Summit, to
develop a transportation and logistics support arrangement, which will
help provide countries with transportation to deploy to peace support
operations and logistics support to sustain units in the field. This
kind of arrangement, which will take into account existing efforts,
should address a key capabilities gap that often prevents timely
intervention in crises.

Increase our contribution to the
training of carabinieri/gendarme-like forces both by continuing to
support existing centers dedicated to that purpose, notably those in
France and Italy, and those in Africa, and by supporting new
initiatives in that respect. In particular, we will support the
Italian initiative to establish, on a multinational basis, an
international training center that would serve as a Center of
Excellence to provide training and skills for peace support
operations. The center will build on the experience and expertise of
the Carabinieri, Gendarmerie and other similar forces to develop
carabinieri/gendarme-like units of interested nations, including those
in Africa, for peace support operations.

Providing
interoperability training with the relevant military forces; and

Interacting with academic and research institutions in related
areas, such as humanitarian law, human rights, criminal law, prison
management, and civil-military cooperation.

These efforts complement the objective of building capabilities of
military units, as both are needed in peace support operations.

We remain committed to the above actions to accelerate and expand
current efforts to enhance global capability for peace support
operations and its related activities. To do so, G-8 member states
have provided, and will continue to provide, substantial support to
meet these objectives. We look forward to the day when these units are
no longer needed, but until then we acknowledge that expanding global
capability for peace support operations is a critical element to a
safer and more secure world.